Metal Nanoclusters Synthesized in Alkaline Ethylene Glycol: Mechanism and Application

The “unprotected” metal and alloy nanoclusters (UMCs) prepared by the alkaline ethylene glycol method, which are stabilized with simple ions and solvent molecules, have the advantages of a small particle size, a narrow size distribution, good stability, highly efficient preparation, easy separation, surface modification and transfer between different phases. They can be composited with diverse materials to prepare catalytic systems with controllable structures, providing an effective means of studying the different factors’ effects on the catalytic properties separately. UMCs have been widely used in the development of high-performance catalysts for a variety of functional systems. This paper will review the research progress on the formation mechanism of the unprotected metal nanoclusters, exploring the structure–function relationship of metal nanocluster catalysts and the preparation of excellent metal catalysts using the unprotected metal nanoclusters as building blocks or starting materials. A principle of the influence of carriers, ligands and modifiers in metal nanocluster catalysts on the catalytic properties is proposed.